A new report commissioned by the Scottish Government has revealed that its plans to introduce minimum pricing for alcohol could reduce consumption by 5.4 per cent.

Research published by the University of Sheffield has concluded that using an example minimum price of 40p per unit of alcohol, together with a ban on off-sales promotions, could also save the NHS a total of £21m each year. A team led by Dr Petra Meier conducted the research, which examined more than 20 policy scenarios based on the proposed measures that the Scottish Government is looking to implement to tackle alcohol-related illnesses and crime.

Scottish health secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "It's now widely recognised that excessive alcohol consumption across society - fanned by rock-bottom pricing - is one of the biggest threats to Scottish public health. "It's also clear that excessive drinking is bad for the economy and bad for industry - with many thousands of workdays lost each year through absenteeism."